Trustees admit contract slipups

Saturday

Feb 23, 2008 at 12:01 AM

LODI - The Lodi Unified Board of Trustees voted 5-1 in favor of interim Superintendent Len Casanega's prorated $223,000 contract Tuesday night, but four trustees have since said the board did a poor job negotiating the contract because they hired Casanega prior to discussing his salary.

Keith Reid

LODI - The Lodi Unified Board of Trustees voted 5-1 in favor of interim Superintendent Len Casanega's prorated $223,000 contract Tuesday night, but four trustees have since said the board did a poor job negotiating the contract because they hired Casanega prior to discussing his salary.

While three of those four board members say they stand behind the decision to hire Casanega, 61, for $1,000 a day from Jan. 15 to July 3, Trustees Ken Davis, Jeff Thompson, Harvey Bills and Richard Jones have all said the board did not follow its best hiring procedure.

Bills, the lone dissenter on the contract, said he is "totally disappointed" with the entire negotiation process as the district faces $8 million in budget cuts heading into next school year.

The prorated $223,000 annual salary is much higher than outgoing Superintendent Bill Huyett's $199,000 salary and is 63 percent higher than the $141,000 Casanega earned as personnel director. But the district will save about $16,000 by hiring Casanega because his former position as personnel director will not be filled for two months.

"We might have jumped the gun in not negotiating prior to naming (Casanega) interim superintendent," said Jones, who voted in favor of the contract. "Hindsight is 20-20. Undoubtedly, we should have negotiated complete compensation (before making the hire)."

The preferred procedure, Davis said, would have been to identify several candidates, then approach the top candidate with a job offer that included a salary the board was comfortable with. The candidate could negotiate a higher salary from that starting point.

Instead, Casanega was offered the job, accepted it and was publicly named interim superintendent Jan. 15, when he assumed the role. Casanega was the best candidate, board members say, because he plans to retire July 4.

"Having an interim superintendent that will retire rather than apply for the full-time job makes the position more attractive to outside candidates," said Davis, also noting that Casanega is well-respected within Lodi Unified.

The huge salary boost, however, also drastically increases Casanega's pension based on the state's formula.

Because the trustees awarded Casanega the job without first firming up his salary, he was able to approach the board in closed session with his contract demands, Davis confirmed.

"The ball was in his hands to begin with," Davis said.

At that point, Davis said, Casanega requested a $223,000 prorated contract. Davis took the request to the board to accept it without a counteroffer.

Davis said he wanted to make a counteroffer, but he was outvoted by his peers, who he said are simply inexperienced in contract negotiations. The board rushed to a decision, he said.

"I don't want to belittle my role in this. I'm responsible, too. But I think it would have been a different outcome with a more experienced board," Davis said.

Thompson refused further comment about the negotiations for fear of violating the Ralph M. Brown Act, the section of California law that requires open governmental meetings and dictates when it is appropriate for a body to hold a closed meeting.

Casanega said he believes the contract is a fair one, and a little bit below what superintendents in similar-sized districts make. A district study shows superintendents in similar districts make as much as $263,000 in total compensation, which includes monthly salary and fringe benefits such as travel expenses.

Casanega's $1,000-a-day contract, however, is straight salary and does not include any potential fringe benefits.

"We were figuring out these numbers anyway, because Bill (Huyett's) contract was up, and we were going to be negotiating with him had he not left," Casanega said. "I think, if we would have negotiated upfront, the contract would have ended up being the same."

Casanega said his services and workload warrant fair pay, and the majority of trustees concur that a $223,000 salary is fair compensation for the district superintendent's job.

Thompson gave a short outline of Casanega's duties, as well as what the expectations of him will be.

"I expect Len to go forward as if he's been hired long term," Thompson said.

Thompson said Casanega is not a stopgap between superintendents, but he is responsible for making sure the district continues to narrow the achievement gap between white students and students of color. He is charged with working with Chief Business Officer Doug Barge to maintain a balanced budget and find ways to cut a mandated $8 million over the next year.

He also will be counted on to assist the district in hiring its next superintendent, Thompson said, noting Casanega's negotiating skills and human resources background.

Although some have said district teachers and staff are concerned about the high per diem for Casanega, none have spoken publicly about the contract. Teachers union President Sue Kenmotsu declined to comment to The Record.

Davis said he has received complaints by phone from district teachers and staff members about Casanega's contract, but he noted that those complaints are based on the perception that paying a high salary for the interim superintendent would make looming budget cuts more drastic.

"That's not true. The interim superintendent's pay has nothing to do with budget cuts. The budget cuts we have to make will be made and would have been made, regardless," Davis said.